Final Fantasy IX's release date is just shy of a month away, and as the day draws nearer, RPGamer brings you more information on the game. Today we have an interview for you (courtesy of IGN.com) with Nobuo Uematsu (music composer), Hideo Minaba (art director), and Hiroyuki Itou (director).

In the interview, the Square team discusses the popularity of the Final Fantasy games, the development of Final Fantasy IX, and the future of the series. Some excerpts from the interview:

IGN: FFIX is said to be the last completely "off-line" FF. Do you think people will miss the single-player experience if the FF series shifts to completely online play?

Itou: If you find the online play to be disappointing, please tell us, so that we can think things over. I'm sure we'll discover many things from developing and seeing online games.

IGN: It's been rumored that the ending to FFIX was changed at the very last moment, is this true?

Aoki: I think that the concept has remained the same, but we did change the ending seven times.

The full interview can be found here. Be sure to check out RPGamer's continuing coverage of Final Fantasy IX; the release date is less than a month away!